Lesson 5 - Our Identity & Dignity, Genesis 1:24-2:25

(To help you answer the questions see the Notes  and the Chart: What the Bible Says About Marriage below.)

"What is man?" the psalmist asks, and the world has been quick to answer: "The measure of all things," says a philosopher; "The Naked Ape," says an anthropologist; "A complex machine," declares a scientist.

As Christians, we are not concerned with the world's answers to the question but with God's answer. What he says determines how we think and feel about ourselves-it defines our identity and our self-esteem.

According to Genesis, we are made in the image of God. In this study we will consider what that means.

1. What makes you feel good about yourself? (Be honest!)

2. Read Genesis 1:24-2:25. We humans were created on the sixth day, along with the land animals. We are similar to them, yet very different. What special privileges did God bestow on humanity (Genesis 1:24-31)?

3. Compare the two accounts of the creation of the human race (Genesis 1:26-30 and Genesis 2:4-25). What different emphasis is given in each account?

   Together what do they teach us about ourselves?

4. How would you describe God's relationship with Adam (Genesis 2:15-18)?

5. Imagine Adam beginning life with just the animals around him and no contact with God. How would his life have been different?

6. Like Adam, we too need to be on personal terms with God. How does knowing God make a difference in the way you live and think about yourself?

7. Adam was given complete freedom in the Garden, except for access to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15-17). In what ways do you think placing that tree off-limits would have affected Adam?

   What would Adam learn about God by this prohibition?

8. What benefits have you received by the freedoms and restraints that God requires of you?

9. As Adam is naming the animals, he discovers a need for companionship that isn't being met (Genesis 2:18-25). How would you describe the intended relationship between Adam and Eve?

   In what ways would Eve fill a need for companionship and help that neither God nor the animals filled?

10. God says that it isn't good for a man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). From your experience, what is wrong with being alone?

    How does feeling alone affect your sense of identity and self-worth?

11. How has this passage helped you understand why you have dignity and self-worth?

1:25 God saw that his work was good. People sometimes feel guilty for having a good time or for feeling good about an accomplishment. This need not be so. Just as God felt good about his work, we can be pleased with ours. However, we should not feel good about our work if God would not be pleased with it. What are you doing that pleases both you and God?

Genesis 1:26

1:26 Why does God use the plural form, "Let us make man in our image"? One view says this is a reference to the Trinity-God the Father, Jesus Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit-all of whom are God. Another view is that the plural wording is used to denote majesty. Kings traditionally use the plural form in speaking of themselves. From Job 33:4 and Psalm 104:30, we do know that God's Spirit was present in the creation. From Col. 1:16 we know that Christ, God's Son, was at work in the creation.

1:26 In what ways are we made in God's image? God obviously did not create us exactly like himself because God has no physical body. Instead, we are reflections of God's glory. Some feel that our reason, creativity, speech, or self-determination is the image of God. More likely, it is our entire self that reflects the image of God. We will never be totally like God because he is our supreme Creator. But we do have the ability to reflect his character in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and faithfulness.

Knowing that we are made in God's image and thus share many of his characteristics provides a solid basis for self-worth. Human worth is not based on possessions, achievements, physical attractiveness, or public acclaim. Instead it is based on being made in God's image. Because we bear God's image, we can feel positive about ourselves. Criticizing or downgrading ourselves is criticizing what God has made and the abilities he has given us. Knowing that you are a person of worth helps you love God, know him personally, and make a valuable contribution to those around you.

Genesis 1:27

1:27 God made both man and woman in his image. Neither man nor woman is made more in the image of God than the other. From the beginning the Bible places both man and woman at the pinnacle of God's creation. Neither sex is exalted, and neither is depreciated.

Genesis 1:28

1:28 To "rule over" something is to have absolute authority and control over it. God has ultimate rule over the earth, and he exercises his authority with loving care. When God delegated some of his authority to the human race, he expected us to take responsibility for the environment and the other creatures that share our planet. We must not be careless and wasteful as we fulfill this charge. God was careful how he made this earth. We must not be careless about how we take care of it.

Genesis 1:31

1:31 God saw that all he had created was very good. You are part of God's creation, and he is pleased with how he made you. If at times you feel worthless or of little value, remember that God made you for a good reason. You are valuable to him.

Genesis 2:2-3

2:2-3 We live in an action-oriented world! There always seems to be something to do and no time to rest. Yet God demonstrated that rest is appropriate and right. If God himself rested from his work, then it should not amaze us that we also need rest. Jesus demonstrated this principle when he and his disciples left in a boat to get away from the crowds (see Mark 6:31-32). Our times of rest refresh us for times of service.

2:3 That God blessed the seventh day means that he set it apart for holy use. This act is picked up in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) where God commanded the observance of the Sabbath.

Genesis 2:4

Learning about our ancestors often helps us understand ourselves. Adam and Eve, our first ancestors, were the highlight of God's creation-the very reason God made the world. But they didn't always live the way God intended. Through their mistakes, we can learn important lessons on how to live rightly. Adam and Eve teach us much about the nature of sin and its consequences.

Genesis 2:7

2:7 "From the dust of the ground" implies that there is nothing fancy about the chemical elements making up our bodies. The body is a lifeless shell until God brings it alive with his "breath of life." When God removes his life-giving breath, our bodies once again return to dust. Therefore our life and worth come from God's Spirit. Many boast of their achievements and abilities as though they were the originator of their own strengths. Others feel worthless because their abilities do not stand out. In reality, our worth comes not from our achievements but from the God of the universe, who chooses to give us the mysterious and miraculous gift of life. Value life, as he does.

Genesis 2:9, 15-17

2:9 The name of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil implies that evil had already occurred, if not in the garden, then at the time of Satan's fall.

2:9, 16-17 Were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil real trees? Two views are often expressed:

1. The trees were real, but symbolic. Eternal life with God was pictured as eating from the tree of life.

2. The trees were real, possessing special properties. By eating the fruit from the tree of life, Adam and Eve could have had eternal life, enjoying a permanent relationship as God's children.

In either case, Adam and Eve's sin separated them from the tree of life and thus kept them from obtaining eternal life. Interestingly, the tree of life again appears in a description in Rev. 22 of people enjoying eternal life with God.

2:15-17 God gave Adam responsibility for the garden and told him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Rather than physically preventing him from eating, God gave Adam a choice, and thus the possibility of choosing wrongly. God still gives us choices, and we, too, often choose wrongly. These wrong choices may cause us pain, but they can help us learn and grow and make better choices in the future. Living with the consequences of our choices teaches us to think and choose more carefully.

2:16-17 Why would God place a tree in the garden and then forbid Adam to eat from it? God wanted Adam to obey, but God gave Adam the freedom to choose. Without choice, Adam would have been like a prisoner, and his obedience would have been hollow. The two trees provided an exercise in choice, with rewards for choosing to obey and sad consequences for choosing to disobey. When you are faced with the choice, always choose to obey God.

Genesis 2:18-24

2:18-24 God's creative work was not complete until he made woman. He could have made her from the dust of the ground, as he made man. God chose, however, to make her from the man's flesh and bone. In so doing, he illustrated for us that in marriage man and woman symbolically become one flesh. This is a mystical union of the couple's hearts and lives. Throughout the Bible, God treats this special partnership seriously. If you are married or planning to be married, are you willing to keep the commitment that makes the two of you one? The goal in marriage should be more than friendship; it should be oneness.

2:21-23 God forms and equips men and women for various tasks, but all these tasks lead to the same goal-honoring God. Man gives life to woman; woman gives life to the world. Each role carries exclusive privileges; there is no room for thinking that one sex is superior to the other.

2:24 God gave marriage as a gift to Adam and Eve. They were created perfect for each other. Marriage was not just for convenience, nor was it brought about by any culture. It was instituted by God and has three basic aspects: (1) the man leaves his parents and, in a public act, promises himself to his wife; (2) the man and woman are joined together by taking responsibility for each other's welfare and by loving the mate above all others; (3) the two become one flesh in the intimacy and commitment of sexual union that is reserved for marriage. Strong marriages include all three of these aspects.

See the Chart Below: What the Bible Says About Marriage

Genesis 2:25

2:25 Have you ever noticed how a little child can run naked through a room full of strangers without embarrassment? He is not aware of his nakedness, just as Adam and Eve were not embarrassed in their innocence. But after Adam and Eve sinned, shame and awkwardness followed, creating barriers between themselves and God. We often experience these same barriers in marriage. Ideally a husband and wife have no barriers, feeling no embarrassment in exposing themselves to each other or to God. But, like Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:7), we put on fig leaves (barriers) because we have areas we don't want our spouse, or God, to know about. Then we hide, just as Adam and Eve hid from God. In marriage, lack of spiritual, emotional, and intellectual intimacy usually precedes a breakdown of physical intimacy. In the same way, when we fail to expose our secret thoughts to God, we break our lines of communication with him.

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